This makes more sense now. At least with turns it makes sense to me. I imagine this is applicable in non turning situations as well? When I watch Bill Stoppard I see him doing crossovers constantly. Is this so that he has more room to push his down skate laterally instead of back? Should I be doing some sort of crossover at all times or is it mostly a tool for turns?

I did start practicing my crossovers yesterday for the first time. It's pretty frightening at first but my legs quickly found the feeling. Speed and tighter arc are still a ways off though.

Crossing over uses different muscle groups than a straight push. Bill Stoppard utilizes that fact to stay fresh. There are many obstacles while urban skating and crossing over allows you to take a different arc through the terrain ahead. Once fluent, you can create many shapes and sizes of arcs while navigating through the city, allowing you to maintain speed, continue rolling, and avoid obstacles at the same time.

I have learned more from this thread than any other medium at this point. I have gotten much better in the week and a half I have had my skates as well. Thanks for all the advice and I hope other new people see this as well.

I have just one more question. I have been rolling on a plastic frame to learn the basics before I upgrade, looking at that frame I am terrified of what i may end up doing to an aluminum frame. It's mainly from my hockey stop when I swing out my left foot. The tip of the frame has abrasions. It may extend father than an aluminum frame since it's overbuilt plastic but do you guys scratch the front of your frames? How bad does it get?

I have learned more from this thread than any other medium at this point. I have gotten much better in the week and a half I have had my skates as well. Thanks for all the advice and I hope other new people see this as well.

I have just one more question. I have been rolling on a plastic frame to learn the basics before I upgrade, looking at that frame I am terrified of what i may end up doing to an aluminum frame. It's mainly from my hockey stop when I swing out my left foot. The tip of the frame has abrasions. It may extend father than an aluminum frame since it's overbuilt plastic but do you guys scratch the front of your frames? How bad does it get?

Depends on what wheel sizes your using. Smaller wheels get the frames closer to the ground, and on some plastic frames with less than perfect form, you can frame out pretty easily since plastic needs more material for the same strength. Alu frames like the Twister 243/twister 80 from Rollerblade has pretty good clearances from the ground on 80mm wheels as the skate leans over. If you frame out with those skates, your doing something wrong.

What skates are you using right now?

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Home rink: Roll-A-Rama in Huntington Wv.
"Focus on form and speed is a byproduct, focus on speed and falling is a byproduct." - Matguy